Aubrey Frye

1. What is your educational background and what positions have you held? 

I studied early childhood education and Spanish at Slippery Rock and recently graduated this past spring. At Slippery Rock, I completed my student teaching in a general education first grade classroom in Butler Area School District for 12 weeks. The last 4 weeks of my student teaching I completed in Dublin, Ireland in a second grade general education classroom. Right after graduation I started as a PCA for Mt. Lebanon's Summer Enrichment Program where I assisted in a first grade classroom and worked specifically with students with IEP's. This school year I accepted a long-term subbing position teaching High School Spanish 2 and Honors 2 at Penn Trafford High School in Harrison City.

 

2. Name one SRU experience, in general or specific to the field, that you will never forget and explain why.

The experiences I will never forget from SRU were my study abroad experiences. I know that with COVID it might be a while until SRU students are able to travel again, but I really feel that traveling with the programs at SRU really helped me learn more about teaching in other countries and helped me gain cultural experiences I would have never had without SRU. I would definitely recommend traveling and experiencing as much as you can during your time at SRU because it truly is worth it!

3. Name an SRU faculty that had a positive influence on you and explain why.

The faculty member that had a positive influence on my time at SRU was Dr. Sara Tours. Dr. Tours was my advisor for the last 2 years at Slippery Rock, she was my supervisor for student teaching, and she was the professor that took me on two of my abroad experiences; Spain and Ireland. Dr. Tours always went out of her way to help me with anything I needed at SRU, whether it was education related or not. She really cares about the success of her students and she is very well educated in the field of education. She is happy to help anyone with whatever they need at SRU!

 

4. What initially peaked your interest in pursuing a degree in education?

My initial interest in education came from my background in dance. I started co-teaching dance when I turned 13. Since then, I have co-taught and taught many levels and ages of dance. During my time teaching dance in high school, I realized that teaching is something I am passionate about and I want to share my knowledge with other people. I also chose to pursue a Spanish degree to be able to teach Spanish. I chose to do this because I had an amazing high school Spanish teacher that really inspired me to want to learn and love the Spanish language and culture. In my current position, I am able to teach high schoolers Spanish and share my love of the language and culture with other people.

5. What do you love most about teaching?

The thing I love most about teaching is how rewarding it feels seeing your students succeed. In both teaching dance and teaching early childhood and Spanish, it is incredible to see students' growth throughout the year. I always love when you have a student who is struggling, and finally they have that "aha moment" when they find success. It makes everything worth it!

6. What makes a great teacher?

I believe that a great teacher is one that is willing to step outside of the box, try new things, and continually change and accommodate their lessons for their students. Really getting to know your students on a personal level and knowing about their interests separates a good teacher from a great teacher. Great teachers are always willing to change and modify their lessons based on the needs of their students, and to be able to better capture their students' attention and help them succeed in every aspect of life. Great teachers never give up and never stop modifying and updating their teaching techniques!